"Paleo" Apple Pie

I made a really good apple pie for Thanksgiving. I finished it off yesterday morning and am already wanting more! Ah, the time of holiday treat eating. I blended a bunch of recipes and was happy with the end result. The only thing I'd tamper with next time is the crumble topping...it didn't get crispy and was a little more soft/chewy. I didn't actually mind that, but will experiment some more.

The crust is a pecan crust from Elena's Pantry. The only thing I changed was to add a little sweetness to the crust. I only added one date - it seems neglegable to use just one, but that is what I did! I also baked mine differently than she does because I pre-baked it a bit and did the filling with mostly cooked apples. The whole pie baked together for only 15 minutes. Making grain free pies is really much easier than the old gluten kind - at least not needing to roll out crust and wait for it to chill and all that business. I found it quite pleasant. You could easily reduce the sweetener in the filling (or use part stevia) - I was winging it and it turned out not overly sweet.

Pecan Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 medjool date, pit removed
1 T coconut flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease/butter/ghee a 9" pie plate.
2. Pulse pecans and chopped date in a food processor until mixture resembles course gravel. Add coconut flour, salt and egg and pulse until the mixture thickens and starts to form a ball.
3. Spread nut crust mix into pie plate, making sure to smooth it evenly on the bottom and sides. I found it nice to wet my fingers so that the mixture didn't stick to my fingers. It took a little patience, but the whole thing spread pretty easily.
4. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 10-14 minutes. The crust will start to brown slightly and will look more firm. I poked a few fork holes on the crust to let any steam/air out as it baked. Let crust cool a bit before filling with apples.

Apple Filling
7-9 tart apples
juice of half a lemon
4 T butter/ghee
3 T honey
2 T coconut sugar
1+ tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 T coconut flour

Core apples and cut in thick slices Heat butter in a large pot and add apples once it is melted. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for about 20-25 minutes on medium heat. You want the apples to cook, but not get too soft or mushy; stir gently to coat apples in the sweet butter sauce throughout cooking time. You also want liquid to reduce a bit.

Crumble Topping: Mix the following ingredients in a food processor until crumbly/sticky.
4 dates, pit removed, chopped
2 T pecans
2 T almond meal
2 T butter or ghee

For pie: Once apples are soft and mostly cooked, spoon apples into pie crust. I had a little remaining liquid which I poured over the apples. Top pie with crumble topping.

Bake for 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve!

Kimchi (improved version)

I just made a batch of kimchi jjigae (a fave winter soup) with some old kimchi and it was amazing. I made it for the first time using pork belly instead of bacon, and omg! the pork belly gives it a more silky texture. It was incredible and I still have 1 more jar of last year's kimchi to make more. What glee!

There was some really beautiful napa cabbage at the co-op a couple of weeks ago, so it seemed wise to replenish the dwindling kimchi supply. I've made kimchi 5-6 times, and this time I changed up my method. I was feeling like the recipe I was using was a little fussy and inconsistent on the salting. My biggest challenge with kimchi making is to get the appropriate salty-ness in the napa so that the fermentation works right, and to get a good taste in the end. People have all different kinds of ways to salt: soak napa in salty water, do a salt rub, just add salt to the brine, etc.

My Charming Companion has made kimchi for many, many years and I think his salting method is more effective than my previous attempts and is what I include here. No matter what technique you use, the most important thing is to taste the cabbage and check how salty it is when you put it in the jar. It should taste salty! Taste several pieces of the napa because sometimes there is a range of saltiness and you want to get them pretty similar.

The recipe below uses My Charming Companions salting methods, with my own take on the ingredients. There is no need to measure things out precisely, but I am giving some estimates here. If you have more green onions, put them in, if you want more ginger, do that. I also have a hard time with raw garlic, so I use pureed onion where most people would use garlic.

2 large heads napa cabbage (4-6 lbs)
about 1/2 c sea salt (w/out iodine)
small onion, peeled
2 T ginger, peeled
1/4 c fish sauce (red boat brand is good!)
1/2 c korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)*
1-2 T American red pepper flakes
1 daikon radish, cut into matchsticks
1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped
2 grated carrots (opt)

*Korean red pepper flakes are a bit sweet and not as spicy as American pepper flakes. I've used either in kimchi, but I love the sweetness of gochugaru. It is sold at United Noodles in a large package with a picture of kimchi on the front (the package will last many kimchi batches!) You can buy either flakes or powder. I accidentally bought powder a couple of years ago, and it is working fine. If you use American pepper flakes instead, use less because it will be spicier.

1. Quarter the napa and cut out the really tough core pieces (it's very small at the base of the quarters). Chop the napa into 2" size pieces. You are going to let these pieces of napa sit for a several hours - so either get a really big bowl, or clean out your sink and do it in there.

2. Rinse/moisten the napa and drain any excess water. Add the salt and stir well so that all of the cabbage is coated. Let sit 3-4 hours or overnight.
3. Rinse salt from napa once or twice and taste the cabbage. Rinse salt until it is the appropriate saltiness. It should be a little less salty than sauerkraut (or a salty condiment), but more salty than you would want regular food to taste.
4. Add daikon, scallions, and carrots to the napa and mix.

5. For the pepper paste: Process onion and ginger in a food processor until minced. Remove them from processor and but in a small mixing bowl. Add fish sauce and pepper flakes and stir to make a paste.
6. I put on gloves for this next step: combine the paste with the veggies and really work it in so that all veggies are covered in the red mix - things should be a bit wet at this point. Again, taste a few bites of the napa to double check the salt, and also test the spiciness. Add more pepper if you like. If the mixture is not so salty, add a little bit to the whole thing, stir, and taste again. This will ensure really good kimchi and is worth the tasting!

7. Pack the kimchi into quart jars. The napa will have shrunk quite a bit, and you can generally fit this amount into 3 jars. Press kimchi down so that liquid covers the veggies; leave about an inch at the top for excess liquid that will come up as the fermentation occurs. Put lids on the jars and let sit out 2-6 days, depending on room temp and your fave fermentation level. I sat mine out 6 days, and made sure to set them on a plate to catch any overflow liquid. Refrigerate until ready to eat. It will last years but will continue fermenting very slowly.

Chocolate chia seed pudding

I went to a big "harvest dinner" this week and ate all kinds of things that I have not been eating lately. Like wine, potatoes, and sugar - in several forms, including flourless chocolate cake. My Charming Companion asked, "Did you get romantic with that cake?" (referring to a line from It Starts with Food where they recommend eating dessert type treats with some romance. They want you to take your cookie on a date and really get cozy with it - or some such similar sentiment.) Mine was a hurried love - I was overly excited and perhaps rushed things a bit. I was wired afterwards and the next several days keep feeling hungry, hungry, hungry. Is that the sugar? I don't know for sure, but seems likely.

Other discoveries post my Whole30 - I guess I do react to dairy. My nose seems to have a tendency to be a bit wet whether I eat dairy or not, but there is significant dripping when I do. So. I don't know what I'll do with that information. Maybe not have so much dairy. We'll see.

In the wake of my sugar crash, I did decide to make this minimally sweetened chocolate pudding. It has only 5 ingredients: dark chocolate (I used my fave 80% Equal Exchange), chocolate powder, chia seeds, coconut milk, and vanilla. At first bite, I thought it was not so sweet (it was the day after the flourless chocolate cake, afterall), but a couple of days later when I had ramekin number 2, I was totally sold. My Charming Companion found these pudding cups quite delicious and was totally prepared to eat them all if I was not into them.

With a drizzle of coconut milk!

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding (4 servings)
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 oz dark chocolate, 70% or higher, chopped
1 T high quality cocoa powder
5 T chia seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat coconut milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir/whisk in chopped chocolate and cocoa powder.
2. When chocolate is all melted and the saucepan looks like delicious hot chocolate, turn off the heat and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla. *Do this while stirring continuously so that the seeds do not clump up at the bottom. Keep stirring as mixture starts to thicken.
3. Pour into individual serving cups or ramekins, and refrigerate for at least an hour until "pudding" is firm. Serve! (I ate mine plain, but it would probably be delicious with some whipped coconut cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top.)

Grandma Ho Inspired Hamburgers

Grandma Ho is not my grandma, she is My Charming Companion's grandma, and really, this is not her exact recipe. She definitely did not use coconut aminos or coconut flour. Her hamburgers were famous, and she sold them at her restaurant called Honey's. This article, written when My Charming Companion's grandma died, is from the Honolulu advertiser and talks about her history, including the restaurant. In stories that I hear about her, she was totally tough, and also very compassionate; the article calls her a "legend."

My Charming Companion has made this recipe numerous times over the years, but it is ALWAYS different because he doesn't make it the same way each time (though there is always ginger). I asked if I could record all the ingredients so that I could make it sometime independently, and this is the version that came about. Yum!

1 lb burger
2 eggs
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp mustard powder
1 T coconut aminos
2 tsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1+ tsp smoky salt (smoky is critical here)
pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste, I like things a little salty, so it was a little extra. Form mixture into 4 patties.
2. Cook/sear on a skillet. Because these burgers are a paleo version and use coconut flour and eggs as binders, they brown faster than a traditional mixed burger patty. Expect that they will brown/blacken quite a bit. Cook as you would any burger to your preferred done-ness. Both My Charming Companion and I prefer these more well done than usual: they are sort of like meatloaf burgers that seem to invite longer cooking.
3. Serve! These are great with homemade mayo of course, and pickles and tomato. You could also have sauteed onions. Or just eat them as they are!

Chicken Hearts and Livers (Del va Jegar)

Del va Jegar is a Persian dish of Chicken hearts and livers. I came across it in my "Great Liver Recipe Search" across different cultural cuisines. I have never had chicken heart before, but they sell it at the Seward Co-op, so I felt inspired to give it a try. The little hearts are a a nice chewy texture that contrasts really nicely with the creaminess of the liver. I thought it turned out great - the flavor combo was like no other I have had before. It uses fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, saffron, garlic, and some cumin. Minimal spicing. There is not a specific recipe on the internet that I could find, but I did watch this lovely video of chef KShar. I recommend reading the comments, especially his responses: KShar seems to radiate love and joyfulness, which I find very enjoyable.

I modified the recipe to be paleo, which really meant using coconut flour in lieu of bread crumbs. I also estimated the amounts of ingredients I used (he does not give amounts) - but since I have never had this dish before, I have no way to know if my amounts are correct or not. Someday maybe I will get to have this dish and compare! It seems that many Iranian people traditionally make this with lamb liver and heart, which might be another interesting experiment.

Del va Jegar

You can't see the tomato slices, but they are under there!

1/2 lb. chicken hearts, cut in half
1/2 lb. chicken livers, cut in half
coconut flour (2-3 T)
1/4 c. fat
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (opt)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. sundried tomatoes, chopped
pinch cumin
pinch saffron
1-2 tomatoes, cut in thick slices
Garnish: julienne green onion and cilantro
(or parsley in my case because it was in the garden!)

1. Put 2 T fat in a medium sized skillet or cast iron pan. Fry garlic on medium heat. After a few minutes, add red pepper flakes and onion. Saute several minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and saute another few minutes. Mixture should be fragrant and soft looking. Add hearts and continue cooking on medium, stirring occasionally.

Floured livers (left) and hearts (right)

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 T fat in a large cast iron skillet. While it is heating, roll or toss liver pieces in coconut flour to coat. Ideally this will be a light dusting. When fat is hot, lay liver peices on a single layer across the pan and turn the heat to medium/medium-high. You want to be careful not to overcook the liver, and you also want a nice browned sear. This will be about 3-4 minutes on each side. They will still be pink in the middle, and I always think, "they can't be done yet!" but they are. You want them creamy and soft, and the less you handle them the better.

3. Add spices to the heart mix: salt and pepper, cumin, and saffron and continue to stir.

4. When liver is done, remove it from the skillet and set on a warm plate. Keep the skillet heat on, and now layer the slices of tomato in the skillet to brown in the remaining coconut-flour-y fat. Sprinkle a bit more coconut flour on top, and flip them after a minute. The tomatoes should get a nice sear.

5. To serve: lay tomato slices on each plate. Cover with heart mixture (it should pile up a bit). Cover that with pieces of liver. Sprinkle with julienned green onion and cilantro and serve!

Meatloaf with Chimichurri Sauce

The snow is starting to fall! I am watching the snowflakes while I await the results of the Minneapolis mayor election and type up this blog post. It seems highly unlikely that this snow will stick around, but my mind does turn to some winter comfort foods in the midst of the chilly weather.

Last night I tried a new meatloaf recipe - more of an Argentinean take on things with a chimichurri sauce. It turned out delicious! Chimichurri is a parsley sauce that is typically served with grilled meat of any kind, though I have not actually had it prior to making it yesterday. It's really nice and fresh tasting, and was a great way to use up lots of parsley from the garden before this freeze/snowfall. I also liked the alternative to a tomato-ketchup-y sauce. The chimichurri is not so sweet, but is really flavorful and bright tasting.

My recipe is based on "Argentinean-style Meatloaf with Chimichurri" from my Odd Bits cookbook. It does not make use of any animal odd bits though - she makes it using brisket (that she puts through a grinder). I made it using ground venison - and ground burger would work just fine. I also made some mashed cauliflower - because what is meatloaf without it?! I also kind of freaked out when i was looking at my grocery receipt where my 3.3 lb cauliflower cost the same as the 2 lb pork belly, and as a large Callister farm chicken (which was on sale). I obviously had not paid close attention to the cauliflower costing over $4 a pound or some such. I mean - that is a little crazy! I will be buying conventional from here on out.

Not the best photo - but very tasty!

Meatloaf with Chimichurri
2 T beef dripping or lard
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 c. diced mushrooms
1 lb spinach, stemmed & chopped
(I used frozen nettles instead)
2 1/4 lb ground brisket
1 scant T coconut flour
1 large egg
coarse sea salt
cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
3 c flat leaf parsley leaves
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, germ removed (opt)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano

1. In a large frying pan over medium heat, add the drippings; when the fat is hot add the onions and mushrooms and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high and add the spinach/greens and continue to cook, stirring, until the all the water from the spinach and mushrooms has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a large bowl mix meat, cooled spinach mixture, and coconut flour. Whisk the egg with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon cayenne and season with pepper; add to the beef and mix well. (From here you can take a small spoonful of the mix and fry it up as a mini patty to taste it and check the seasoning, or just forge ahead. Mine tasted good.)
4. Pack the meat mixture into a 6 cup loaf pan, mounding it in the center. Bake for 55 minutes; meatloaf will have shrunk (is that a word?) from the sides of the pan.
5. Meanwhile, place the parsley, shallot, and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and a pinch of salt and cayenne and process until well mixed. Transfer the chimichurri to a small bowl.
6. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest 10 minutes. Slice and serve with the chimichurri sauce. This is delicious with mashed cauliflower, and also tastes nice cold.

Whole30 Update and Carrot Beet Salad

I am at the three week mark of my Whole30, and am feeling pretty good. I'm eating some occasional fruit, but my biggest splurge was when I ate a date last weekend. This is the most sweetener-free I have ever been, and I notice I am very aware of a sober sort of feeling. I have certainly had some days/emotions come up where I've wanted to eat chocolate or something, and I've eaten a good share of frozen coconut macadamia nut bars instead, but its not like I can eat a lot of them - they are just too filling. And really, even if I ate lot of them, I don't know that I would have any negative side effects.

One feature of the Whole30 that I hadn't really expected was how easy it helps me be with my food boundaries. I've had a long road of that - initially feeling like I was being rude for turning down food that was made/brought for me, and sometimes eating stuff because it was gluten free and looked delicious even if it maybe wasn't what I felt good about eating (some really mediocre wedding cake for example). Maybe it's because the Whole30 is so clear, I just have not had a problem or felt tempted. 

Yesterday I happened to look at The Heavy Table for something or other, and also saw a link to a new bakery that is opening up near my house this month. It's a cupcake place, and for whatever reason I thought I'd peruse their cupcakes. Honestly, it's kind of crazy to see that much sugar. I was fascinated to watch myself not feel pulled in/interested in eating them (the gluten free ones). I don't know if that will last since I don't plan to keep up with the rigid boundaries, but I'm curious about the craving landscape and how it changes.

I've been eating lots of cooked veggies of late: squash and kale, cauliflower and carrots. Frozen peas were on sale so I made pea puree and ate almost all that I made (a whole bag of frozen peas! it was so good). This salad was nice for lunch one afternoon though - fresh and raw, and with veggies and mint from the garden. Soon I'll need to pull all the carrots and beets, so I need to start eating them all up! The original recipe contains honey, but I omitted that, and added olive oil.

2 c grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
1 c grated fresh beets (about 1 medium beet)
1/2 c golden raisins or dried cherries
1/2 tsp paprika (sweet, not hot)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Small pinch of cayenne
2+ Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp (sliced) fresh mint leaves

1. Combine carrots, beets, and raisins in a bowl.
2. Mix remaining ingredients (except mint) together in a jar or small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
3. Drizzle dressing over salad. This salad will taste best after it sits for an hour or two so the dressing can permeate the veggies. Toss in the mint just before serving. (I love mint, so used the leaves whole. You can also slice them for a more subtle taste!)

Puffball mushroom crepe

My Charming Companion found a big puffball mushroom where he was hiking last week, so I got to experiment with it last weekend/this week. I have never eaten a puffball before, but they are pretty unmistakeable. I've seen one once, a soccer-sized ball stuck in the middle of a field. My friend Ella, who I was with at the time, saw the puffball and said, "There is fungus among us!" Which I now think of in direct correlation to puff balls.

Puffballs are usually white and round, often smooth, but sometimes a bit bumpy or warty. The one thing you want to verify to make sure it is a) a puffball and b) edible is to bisect the puffball down the middle (as in photo). It should be entirely white throughout, and the texture should also be the same consistency. If there are gills, you will see them immediately upon bisection and know that this is a very poisonous mushroom in your hands. If not, and if there are no brown, yellow or purple shades, forge ahead! One note - you need to remove the tough outer skin. The edge of the peel will be evident from your bisection and you can probably just peel it off with your fingers, but if not, a knife will work. Underneath will be this soft, poofy sort of delightful marshmallow-y substance.

Puffball slices

I was perusing the interwebs for some puffball ideas, and didn't actually get very far because early on I found a recipe that used sliced puffball as what they called a "fritter" but what I quickly realized could be like a crepe or tortilla of sorts. And of course I was immediately super excited about that option and discontinued all searching and decided to give it a try. Crepe/Tortilla/Wrap thingies are all I did with that big puffball because the opportunities for such items in my paleo/whole30 world are pretty non-existent. And really, a person does not come by puffballs very often, so when one does, I think crepes are a good idea!

I tried cooking the slices of puffball a few different ways: with a little extra oil, more on the dry side, thicker vs thinner, etc. I sort of settled on an in-between-ness. I never got to try baking them, but it seems another experiment for a future puffball.

Puffballs are very mild - almost like tofu in texture and flavor too. The flavor/texture of puffballs seems to be a favorite to eat with eggs, which is also how I ate mine. In terms of storgae, you want to keep them pretty dry - store the puffball halves in the refrigerator in an open bag so that they can breathe and don't get condensation in there. They don't last long, just a 4-5 days. Watch that they don't start to turn yellow/brown.

Puffball "crepe"

1. Slice your puffball into 1 cm thick slices, trying to be as uniform as you can.
2. Heat a small amount of fat in a large cast iron skillet. Turn the heat to medium and when the fat is hot, lay the puffball slice/s in a single layer. You are basically just pan-searing them for a minute or two on each side. You will notice the top side of the puffball will start to bead up with moisture as the first side cooks. Go ahead and flip it shortly after. I found that the slices could be cooked pretty dry - though they tended to stick to the pan a bit. They suck up the fat some, and get more wet with more fat. You can experiment with your preference, but I liked to go drier and risk the sticking.
3. Keep the puffball slices warm in the oven while you cook more slices, but note that they will continue to perspire a bit. If you want to keep them dry, it might be worth stacking them in layers of a tea towel or something (I did not try this).
4. Serve slices of puffball with scrambled eggs, thinly sliced pork belly or bacon, and sauteed veggies (onions and red pepper, roasted eggplant, roasted tomatoes, etc); or try them like a breakfast taco with sauteed pepper/onion, avocado, eggs, bacon and salsa. Fill each puffball piece with fillings, sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and consume!

Note: I think a crunchy something (as in bacon or pork belly) is more necessary to these crepes because the puffball is so soft and smooth. Texturally I just wanted the chewy crunch. And really, I don't need an excuse to add in some pork belly/bacon!